Новости за 04.11.2023

The protest movement that erupted in Iran last year has transformed the country both outside and inside prison, a French-Iranian academic, who returned to Paris last month after being held in the country since 2019, told AFP.   Fariba Adelkhah was finally allowed to leave Iran in October after a four-and-a-half-year ordeal that began with her sudden arrest in 2019 and saw her spend years in Tehran's notorious Evin prison.  But there she was also able to witness the courage of her fellow women inmates... Читать дальше...

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Saturday he would protest a lack of transparency in China's treatment of a detained Australian democracy blogger when meeting with President Xi Jinping in Beijing during a trade-focused state visit.  The detention of Yang Hengjun without conviction for almost five years will be one of the topics raised with Xi when they meet in the Great Hall of the People on Monday.  Yang is being held in a Beijing detention center awaiting the verdict of a 2021 closed-door trial on espionage charges. Читать дальше...

Latest developments: Israeli strikes kill civilians at shelters in Gaza combat zone, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken seeks more aid.  Blinken meets with Arab foreign ministers in Jordan.    Blinken stressed preventing escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, doing more to protect Palestinians and substantially increasing aid to Gaza, when he met Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Netanyahu's war Cabinet.     Israeli airstrikes left multiple fatalities across Gaza Saturday... Читать дальше...

According to the Israeli Ministry of Absorption, 400,000 people who arrived in the country in the past 10 years are defined as new immigrants, potentially in need of government agencies’ help. They now find themselves caught in the Israel-Hamas war. VOA’s Natasha Mozgovaya met in Jerusalem with the new immigrants — or "olim" — from Ethiopia, evacuated from the southern Israeli city of Sderot. Camera — Mary Cieslak.

Until the Israel-Hamas war, President Joe Biden’s foreign policy goals in the Middle East were to further integrate Israel with its Arab neighbors and to contain Iran's nuclear ambitions. Both of those goals may now be in jeopardy as he focuses on keeping the conflict from spiraling into a regional war involving Iran-backed combatants in Lebanon, Yemen and Syria. Biden has spoken nine times with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since the conflict broke out, said a senior administration official briefing reporters Friday. Читать дальше...

Thousands of Iranians gathered on the streets Saturday to mark the anniversary of the 1979 takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, chanting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” while condemning Washington’s support of Israel as it strikes the Gaza Strip as part of its war against Hamas. The rally — which was called for by the state — came as the Israel-Hamas war entered its fourth week. About 1,400 people in Israel were killed and over 240 taken hostage after Hamas' surprise attack on October 7. Читать дальше...

For the first time in 15 years, China is no longer the top source of international students in the United States.   The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that as of September, there were more than 320,000 active Indian student-visa holders, compared with 254,000 from China. (October 2023)

The former head of Guinea's 2008 military junta, Moussa Dadis Camara, was sprung from prison by heavily armed men in Conakry in the early hours Saturday along with three other high-ranking officers, Justice Minister Charles Wright said. Residents told Reuters that military vehicles and special forces were policing the streets of the Guinean capital after shots were heard in the Kaloum administrative district, where Camara and others were held at the Central House prison. "Heavily armed men burst into the Central House of Conakry. Читать дальше...

Nearly half a million Afghans have approached the UNHCR office in Pakistan for resettlement since the fall of Kabul to the Taliban; the agency can send fewer than 5,000 this year

The U.N.’s humanitarian agency is warning that the situation for civilians in Sudan’s volatile Darfur region is worsening as fighting between the country’s two rival armed groups escalates and intercommunal tensions rise. It reports renewed clashes between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in all four corners of Darfur “have killed dozens of civilians and wounded many more; thousands have been displaced and civilian property has been destroyed or damaged.” The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs... Читать дальше...

Sheryl Crow and Olivia Rodrigo kicked off the 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony Friday night, and Missy Elliott closed the show more than four hours later with a roof-shaking set, as the hall celebrated a strong representation of women and Black artists. Chaka Khan, Kate Bush, “Soul Train” creator Don Cornelius, the Spinners and DJ Kool Herc were also inducted in a celebration of funk, art-rock, R&B and hip-hop, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Country music was represented by Willie Nelson... Читать дальше...

Japan and the Philippines announced on Saturday the start of negotiations for a defense pact that would allow troops to be deployed to each other’s territory, a move analysts say is largely prompted by China’s increasingly aggressive behavior in disputed waters. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Manila on a two-day official visit, during which Kishida described the countries’ bilateral relationship as in its “golden age.” Kishida expressed... Читать дальше...

The New York City Marathon women's record, which has stood for 20 years, could go down Sunday with one of the strongest fields assembled in the history of the race. Reigning champion Sharon Lokedi looks to defend her title against a stellar group of female runners who include Boston Marathon champion Hellen Obiri, Olympic gold medalist and 2021 New York champion Peres Jepchirchir and former marathon world-record holder Brigid Kosgei. "It was very life-changing," Lokedi said of winning last year. Читать дальше...

Heavy rains and flooding ravaged parts of Kenya on Friday, sweeping away homes and livestock and destroying roads and electric transmission lines, authorities said. At least two people were killed and at least one was missing. One of the victims died after a house collapsed under heavy rains in the coastal city of Mombasa, police said, while the second was swept away by floods in Meru County in central Kenya. Emergency workers were searching for a third person believed to have drowned in Isiolo, in the country's north. Читать дальше...

Pakistan’s military said Saturday a predawn militant raid on an air force training base in the central city of Mianwali damaged three aircraft, a day after multiple attacks elsewhere in the country killed 22 people, mostly soldiers.     An army statement said security forces killed three of the assailants before they entered the base and killed six others in the ensuing clashes. It credited a "swift and effective response by the troops" for thwarting the "terrorist" raid and "ensuring the safety... Читать дальше...

A new, permanent addition to the sprawling National WWII Museum in New Orleans is a three-story complex with displays as daunting as a simulated Nazi concentration camp bunk room, and as inspiring as a violin pieced together from scrap wood by an American prisoner of war. The Liberation Pavilion, which opened Friday, is ambitious in scope. Its exhibits filling 3,065.80 square meters commemorate the end of the war's death and destruction, emphasize its human costs and capture the horror of those who discovered the aftermath of Nazi atrocities.

A top Chinese military official has vowed to "show no mercy" toward any move toward Taiwan independence despite turmoil in the top ranks of the country's armed forces. "No matter who wants to separate Taiwan from China in any form, the Chinese military will never agree and will show no mercy," said People's Liberation Army General Zhang Youxia. Zhang is vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party. His remarks came at the 10th Xiangshan Forum on Monday in Beijing. Читать дальше...

Called cover crops, they top the list of tasks U.S. farmers are told will build healthy soil, help the environment and fight climate change. Yet after years of incentives and encouragement, Midwest farmers planted cover crops on only about 7% of their land in 2021. That percentage has increased over the years but remains small in part because even as farmers receive extra payments and can see numerous benefits from cover crops, they remain wary. Many worry the practice will hurt their bottom line ... Читать дальше...

At least 128 people were killed and scores more injured after a powerful quake hit western Nepal, reducing some buildings in Jajarkot to piles of rubble, video filmed Saturday morning showed. Local officials said it had not been possible to establish contact in the area near the epicenter in Jajarkot, a hilly district with a population of 190,000 and villages scattered in remote hills. Residents of Bheri were seen climbing over piles of bricks, rocks and wood which were once buildings in the village. Читать дальше...

Some Latin American governments are acting on concerns about the toll of Palestinian civilian deaths in the Israel-Hamas conflict. For the second time in less than 20 years, Bolivia has severed diplomatic relations with Israel, while Colombia and Chile have recalled their ambassadors in Israel, with more countries calling for a cease-fire. Veronica Villafañe has the story.

An Israeli airstrike on an ambulance being used to evacuate the wounded from besieged northern Gaza killed 15 people and injured 60 others Friday, the Hamas-controlled enclave's health ministry said. Israel's military said it had identified and hit an ambulance "being used by a Hamas terrorist cell." It said Hamas fighters were killed in the strike and accused the group of transferring militants and weapons in ambulances. Hamas official Izzat El Reshiq said allegations its fighters were present were "baseless." Ashraf al-Qidra... Читать дальше...

Just after sunset on Nov. 1, police arrived in Fatima's predominantly Afghan neighborhood on the outskirts of Pakistan's capital Islamabad. As she and her siblings braced for a thorough check of their documents that allow them to stay in Pakistan, they quickly hid their elderly mother who does not have a valid visa. "She can't bear [it] if she go[es] to jail," said a text message to VOA from Fatima, which is not her real name. She asked to be identified by a pseudonym out of fear for her family's safety. Читать дальше...

Latest developments: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he stressed preventing escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, doing more to protect Palestinians and substantially increasing aid to Gaza, when he met Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Netanyahu’s war Cabinet. Israel is sending back to Gaza thousands of Palestinian workers who were trapped in Israel after the Hamas attack on Israel. Israel says its troops have surrounded Gaza City amid diplomatic... Читать дальше...

In his third visit to Tel Aviv since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for temporary, humanitarian pauses in the fighting in Gaza to facilitate aid delivery and efforts to free the hostages. But as VOA's Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports, Israel says there will be no temporary truce until all the hostages are freed.

Lebanese militant political group Hezbollah has been engaged in skirmishes with Israeli forces across the border since Israel began military operations in Gaza. Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, spoke Friday, laying out its position for the first time since the Israel-Hamas war started. Jacob Russell reports from Beirut, Lebanon.